You are here:
EPA'S COASTAL 2000 PROGRAM, NORTHEAST COMPONENT - AGENCIES FROM MULTIPLE STATES COLLECTING COMPARABLE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA: IT WORKS
Citation:
Strobel, C J., D J. Cobb, J F. Paul, G Pesch, W B. Galloway, W. Moore, B S. Brown, S S. Hale, H Buffum, M Charpentier, C Audette, AND J Copeland. EPA'S COASTAL 2000 PROGRAM, NORTHEAST COMPONENT - AGENCIES FROM MULTIPLE STATES COLLECTING COMPARABLE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA: IT WORKS. Presented at Estuarine Research Federation 16th Biennial Conference, St. Petersburg, FL, November 4-8, 2001.
Description:
Coastal 2000 is an environmental monitoring program initiated by the US Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development in 2000. The goal is to monitor selected ecological indicators in the nation's estuarine waters and produce an assessment of the health of these waters. Unlike earlier programs, Coastal 2000 partnered (or collaborated) with the coastal states to conduct sampling and process data. EPA's Atlantic Ecology Division, Narragansett, RI, was responsible for coordinating the effort from Delaware to Maine. Working closely with the states, the National design was customized for the states' specific needs, without compromising the integrity of the program. Portions of several existing state monitoring programs were also incorporated. As a result, all Northeast coastal states agreed to participate in sampling. Through individualized on-site training and coordination of sampling activities, all states successfully sampled their estuarine waters for a common suite of indicators, and then returned in 2001 for follow-up sampling. Partnerships worked! Environmental data collected through the Northeast using a common set of indicators, consistent methods, and an overall QA Plan will reside in one database. Data collected are comparable and can be collectively used in the National assessment, in a Northeast assessment, and to assess the condition of the estuarine waters for states.